Lutyens’ Delhi Is Planned and Constructed

Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker plan and oversee the construction of the political seat of New Delhi, soon after it is made the capital of British India. The major buildings and infrastructure in this plan are not just secular and administrative public structures (notably the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Secretariat Buildings and India Gate), but also several lesser-known bungalows.

Built in a restrained neoclassical style that incorporates features of Indian Islamic architecture, the public buildings are given expansive grounds and water features that create an impression of quiet grandeur. The construction of these government buildings ushers in major infrastructural changes that effectively re-orient the major arterial roads, moving the city’s political centre away from Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi), towards the new structures.